CEN15LA300

The pilot’s improper burner control, which allowed the balloon’s envelope to cool, and the balloon’s subsequent encounter with a drop in wind velocity during a highwind landing approach, both of which resulted in the balloon’s descent rate increasing too rapidly for the pilot to arrest it and led to a hard landing.

The commercial pilot checked the weather before the air tour balloon flight. The Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS) automated weather system reported that the surface wind was 070 degrees at 7 mph. A National Weather Service meteorologist informed the pilot that a front north of Denver was expected to pass through Colorado Springs about 6 hours after the flight was going to take off. The pilot also attempted to contact Lockheed Martin Flight Service (LMFS) twice without success; LMFS reported that, on the morning of the accident, it experienced an abnormally high call volume, which resulted in long wait/hold times. About 15 minutes before taking off, the pilot released a pilot balloon (pibal) from the launch site to check the wind aloft. At first, the pibal drifted toward the west slowly. However, when it reached about 1,000 ft above ground level (agl), it appeared to drift back toward the launch site. The pilot reported that he also noticed a slight breeze blowing in a tall treetop located on a rise south of the launch site. Before departure, the pilot rechecked the wind at COS, which was still 070 degrees at 7 mph. The balloon lifted off in calm wind conditions. However, as the flight continued, the balloon's groundspeed began to increase rapidly. About 22 minutes into the flight, a crew chief for another balloon company called the pilot and told him that COS was now reporting wind at 18 mph gusting to 26 mph. The pilot reported that he then began looking for a place to land and that, as he was doing this, the wind continued to increase to about 43 mph. The pilot located a large open field and set up for a high-wind landing, which involved descending to about 20 ft agl, at which point he intended to pull out the [parachute] top of the balloon envelope and make a steep, rapid descent to the ground. However, at 100 ft agl, the balloon encountered a drop in wind velocity from about 43 to 26 mph. The pilot had allowed the envelope to cool for the approach, which, along with the drop in wind velocity, caused the balloon's descent rate to increase rapidly. The pilot subsequently fully engaged the burners, but he was unable to arrest the descent, and the balloon impacted the ground hard. One passenger was ejected from the basket but was not injured. Two of the passengers remained in the basket but sustained serious injuries. Because the pilot had fully engaged the burners before it landed, the balloon lifted off again and ascended rapidly. The pilot regained control of the balloon, flew it to an open field, and subsequently conducted a controlled high-wind landing.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 2, 2015, at 0704 mountain daylight time, a Balony Kubicek Spol Sro BB60Z ride balloon, N210GB, experienced a high-wind landing on a Fort Carson duded artillery range, near Fort Carson, Colorado. Two passengers sustained serious injuries. The pilot and five remaining passengers received minor injuries. The balloon was not damaged. The balloon was registered to the pilot and operated by High but Dry Balloons as a 14 CFR Part 91 air tour business flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight that originated from Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 0605. Before the flight, the pilot checked the weather at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), and the National Weather Service in Pueblo, Colorado. COS reported the surface wind was 070-degrees at 7 mph. The National Weather Service told the pilot that a front that was north of Denver was expected to pass through Colorado Springs around noon. The pilot also attempted to contact Lockheed Martin Flight Service twice, but was unable to get through to them. About 15 minutes before taking off, the pilot released a pibal from the launch site. At first, the pibal drifted toward the west slowly. However, about 1,000 ft, it appeared to drift back toward the launch site. He noticed a slight breeze blowing in a tall treetop located on a rise south of the launch site. Before departure he rechecked the winds at COS, which were still 070 degrees at 7 mph. The balloon lifted off at 0605 in calm wind conditions. As the flight continued, however, the balloon's speed began to increase rapidly. At 0627, and flying over the south entrance to COS, a crew chief for another balloon company called the pilot and told him that COS was now reporting wind at 18 mph, gusting to 26 mph and also discussed with the pilot what to expect for landing sites on Fort Carson. The pilot began looking for a place to land. As he was doing this, the wind continued to increase to 43 mph. The pilot located a large open field on Fort Carson to put the balloon down in. He set up for a high wind landing, descending to about 20 ft. agl, where he would pull out the [parachute] top of the envelope and make a steep, rapid descent to the ground. However, at 100 ft agl, the balloon encountered a drop in wind velocity from 43 to about 26 mph. This caused the balloon's descent to increase rapidly. The pilot engaged the burners fully, but was unable to arrest the rapid descent before impacting the ground hard. A male passenger was ejected from the basket, but was not injured. Two of the female passengers in the basket sustained serious injuries. The balloon lifted off again, ascending rapidly. The pilot regained control of the balloon, and flew to an open field where a controlled high wind landing was accomplished. ON BOARD RECORDING DEVICES --- Global Positioning Satellite Receiver --- A handheld Garmin GPS 12 Global Positioning Satellite receiver was on board the balloon during the accident flight. It recorded date, time, latitude, longitude, ground speed in knots, and course. Data derived from the unit showed the balloon's ground track for the entire flight. The device began recording the balloon's track at 0608:50. At this time, the balloon was in the vicinity of the intersection of North Academy Boulevard and North Carefree Circle, in the north central part of Colorado Springs. The balloon traveled along a predominantly south-southeast heading of about 167 degrees for the first half of the flight. At 0622:16, the balloon skirted the east side of COS and proceeded on a more southerly heading of about 175 degrees. About a mile south of COS runway 17R, the balloon turned and began to travel along a south-southwesterly heading of about 195 degrees. The balloon continued on this course until putting down on an artillery range on the U. S. Army Fort Carson at 0704:18, about 7 miles south of Butts Army Airfield (FCS), Fort Carson, Colorado. A route overlay for the entire flight is provided in the Global Positioning System Devise Specialist's Factual Report, which is provided in the docket to this report. The average groundspeed for the duration of the flight was approximately 20 knots. The maximum derived ground speed between two sequential data points was 39 knots. --- Handheld Personal Electronic Device --- Video with audio retrieved from one of the passenger's handheld personal electronic device produced several short segment video files. The device was a Samsung SM-GM900A, better known by its marketing name, the Samsung Galaxy S5. The video files revealed the following: About 0534, the ground crew was inflating the balloon's envelope with a large fan. There were no clouds visible over the terrain. The treetops captured in the recording showed no wind. The video segment duration lasted 4 minutes and 6 seconds. About 0545, the video shows the hot inflation. The burners are engaged and the balloon's envelope rises. The video ends with the balloon upright. The video segment duration lasted 1 minute and 55 seconds. About 0632, the recording shows the balloon in flight. Some ground features are seen, but the balloon's rate of movement cannot be determined. The audio track recorded some wind noise. A female passenger is then heard saying, "We're moving." The video segment duration lasted 16 seconds. About 0633, the recording shows the camera looking up inside the balloon envelope from the basket. There is light wind noise and then the burner is seen firing. A male voice is then heard, "That must be the entrance to the base." The video segment duration lasted 20 seconds. About 0637, the recording, which lasted 18 seconds, showed the balloon in flight and the field of view looking at an industrial facility. An exhaust output cloud was shown blowing in a southwest direction, which corresponded to the balloon's flight direction at the time. Treetops in the foreground were shown rustling. The balloon operator is heard saying, "I'm haulin' butt. I have no idea where I'm goin'. I can see one fifteen though [reference to a north-south state highway]." Shortly after, a male passenger says, "Holy smokes." The balloon operator is then heard saying, "I'm in a big flat area. I'm gunna drop down and land so hang on." The recording ends with the field of view showing a large green field forward and beneath the balloon. Wind noise was present throughout the recording. About 0738, the recording showed the balloon operator standing next to the basket which is resting on the ground. The video panned around showing portions of the accident site. During the 5 minute and 16 second segment, the operator was heard making statements. Relevant statements were: 0738:52: "They lied about this front. [Maybe] they didn't lie about it but they were misinformed." 0741:02: [sound of a mobile telephone ringing] 0741:07: "Yeah, that's one time … I have no idea. The last I saw when I was landing was twenty six [knots]. No … nothing. There was nothing. I even called Pueblo. [He] saw nothing … but uh … the winds at the airport, the highest they [they got] …" 0742:13: "We're waiting for the helicopter to come. [I found] I was [gliding along] … drug, uh, drug a hundred feet … ripped the top out." About 0747, the recording showed the accident site. There was a considerable amount of wind noise and tall grass seen surrounding the balloon basket was seen blowing in the wind. The video segment duration lasted 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Additional information can be found in the Image Specialist's Factual Report, which is provided in the docket to this report. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION At 0554, weather conditions at COS was wind 030 degrees at 5 knots, few clouds at 11,000 and 18,000 feet, 25,000 foot broken ceiling, 10 miles visibility, temperature 57 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 53 degrees F, and altimeter 30.18 inches Hg. At 0640, weather conditions at COS was wind 360